For the first time in 100 years. A 4 km wide asteroid, which can be seen through binoculars, approached the Earth

The large asteroid 887 Alinda, more than 4 km wide, is approaching the Earth as close as possible. Such close contact is the first in the last 100 years.

Last night, the space rock flew near our planet at a distance of less than 15 million kilometers. However, the peak approach is expected on January 12, and it will be possible to see it with binoculars or a small telescope, IflScience writes.

Asteroid (887) Alinda, with a diameter of 4.2 kilometers, is one of the five largest asteroids to approach Earth at a distance of less than 15 million kilometers between now and 2200, astronomers say.

On January 8, this space object flew 0.08220 astronomical units (AU) closer to our planet. Experts note that one AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

However, Alinda will reach its peak activity on the evening of January 12. Experts advise taking binoculars or a small telescope to see this bright and large asteroid. It will be visible in the northern hemisphere, in the constellations Orion and Gemini.

Although this will be the closest approach to Alinda in a hundred years, scientists do not advise to worry. The asteroid's orbit does not coincide with the Earth's course.

In addition, although in astronomical terms it is called a close contact, Asteroid 887 is still 12.3 million kilometers away from Earth, which is 32 times the average distance to the Moon. However, even at this distance, this space object will be quite bright in the sky for the next 10 days, the researchers emphasize.

According to astronomers, if you don't have binoculars to observe, you can turn on the Virtual Telescope, which will provide a live broadcast of the object.

The next time asteroid 887 will approach the Earth on January 25, 2087, at a distance of 0.16633 AU.

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